Holiday lodges scheme at golf club back again

Ben O’Connell

An amended bid for holiday lodges at a Northumberland golf club, which sparked a series of objections last time round, has been submitted.

Northumberland Estates’ new application for 11 holiday lodges, down from 21, on land south of Rothbury Golf Club has been lodged with the county council.

The lodges would all have three bedrooms, but there are two different types.

Both lodge types have two double rooms and one twin room to provide accommodation for up to six people.

‘Kitchen and living areas are open plan and benefit from large areas of glazing to optimise visual amenity’, according to a design and access statement.

It adds: ‘The site has a steep topography, with the land falling approximately 25m from the south-east to the north, down the river valley.

‘This exposes the site to long distance views from the northern river bank. As such, the lodges have been designed to present a low profile facing north, with roof pitches rising with the land form.’

Plus, ‘sedum roofs have been chosen to offer a muted treatment that is sensitive to long-distance views to the development from across the river valley’.

Each lodge has been has been orientated to provide private terrace areas and each has a private driveway, accessed directly from the central vehicular access route.

What happened last time round?

November 2015: Northumberland Estates lodged a bid for 21 holiday lodges on land south of Rothbury Golf Club, which is in the parish of Whitton and Tosson, sparking a public meeting and an effort to oppose the plans.

March 2016: We reported that parishioners fighting against the scheme were claiming victory after it was withdrawn. However, the developer pointed out that the bid was aimed at supporting the struggling golf club and the objections had ‘compounded the problem’.